​3 in 4 UK men will be overweight by 2030 – WHO

Two out of every three UK women and an even high ratio of British men will be overweight within the next 15 years with the problem expected to worsen across Europe, according to new research by the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO predicts 74 percent
of men and 64 percent of women will qualify as overweight, having
a body mass index (BMI) of over 25 by 2030, an increase of 4
percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Some 30 percent of women and 36 percent of men are expected to be
clinically obese.

However, Britain is not the worst affected country. The Republic
of Ireland could see 89 percent of men and 85 percent of women
overweight by 2030.

Even countries with historically positive records on weight and
obesity such as Sweden look set to see increases, with 26 percent
of Swedish men expected to classify as obese over the next decade
and a half.

Some attribute the figures to increasing poverty. Tam Fry of the
National Obesity Forum thinks the economic downturn across Europe
was a major factor.

“The less well-off haven’t got the money to buy the good
food, often don’t know how to cook, and are ever more reliant on
processed foods,” he told The Independent.

“Processed food will inevitably be less than healthy and in
the end will drive up those obesity figures.

“You only have to see that 1 million people use food banks to
know what a parlous state a lot of people are in. There is a
wider gulf now between the social classes, in terms of obesity
prevalence.”

Some commentators believe there has also been an increase in
prejudice against overweight and obese people, which may serve to
entrench the problem.

Commenting on a study on the rise of “fatism” released
in March, Professor Jane Wardle, director of the Cancer Research
UK Health Behavior Centre at UCL, said discrimination is found
not only among the general public, but also health professionals
who are meant to be helping fat people lose weight.

“Everyone, including doctors, should stop blaming and shaming
people for their weight, and offer support, and where
appropriate, treatment,” she said in a statement.

Obesity researcher Dr Sarah Jackson found that “fat
shaming” does not encourage people to lose weight, but may
actually do the opposite.

The study of almost 3,000 British adults discovered on average
those who experienced mockery ended up gaining 0.95 kg, while
those who did not lost 0.71 kg.

One reason for this is “comfort eating,” as people turn
to junk food as a way of combating negative emotions.